LONZO BALL – Martinez Tribunehttps://martineztribune.com
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1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.4.1Lakers throttle Warriors 127-101 in front of Christmas audiencehttps://martineztribune.com/2018/12/25/lakers-throttle-warriors-127-101-in-front-of-christmas-audience/
Wed, 26 Dec 2018 06:25:07 +0000https://martineztribune.com/?p=10208BY DANIEL GLUSKOTER In perhaps their most embarrassing loss of a young season that has already seen a number of them, the Warriors were spanked by the Los Angeles Lakers 127-101 in front of a nationally televised Christmas night audience Tuesday evening at Oracle. While Golden State has already suffered large losses at home to Oklahoma …

In perhaps their most embarrassing loss of a young season that has already seen a number of them, the Warriors were spanked by the Los Angeles Lakers 127-101 in front of a nationally televised Christmas night audience Tuesday evening at Oracle.

While Golden State has already suffered large losses at home to Oklahoma City, Milwaukee and Toronto, this one was even more puzzling as it found the Warriors healthy and at full-strength. Additionally, Lakers star LeBron James went out midway thru the third quarter with what was later reported as a strained groin, only to see Los Angeles extend their lead without him. Los Angeles turned the game into a rout by outscoring the Warriors 36-19 in the fourth quarter with their star in the locker room.

Kyle Kuzma lead a balanced Lakers attack that saw seven players score in double figures. Kuzma netted 19, while Ivica Zubac, their unsung center, scored 18 points on 9-10 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds. Los Angeles out rebounded the Warriors 49-37 while shooting at a 55.3% clip from the field. James tallied 17 points and 13 rebounds in just 21 minutes of action, and Rajon Rondo added 15 points and 10 assists off the bench.

The Warriors, who shot an anemic 40.9% from the floor, were paced by Andre Iguodala wholed the team in scoring with a season-high 23 points (9-12). Kevin Durantadded 21 points with team highs of seven rebounds and seven assists in 37 minutes. Steph Curry scored 15 on an uncharacteristic 5-17 from the field. Meanwhile, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green were both no-shows, each shooting just 2-7 from the field while combining for a total of nine points.

After the game, the Warriors made no excuses. Asked about not playing like his normal self in Christmas Day games, Steph Curry replied ““It’s been a tough go. Tonight was one of those nights we just got outplayed from the jump. Pretty embarrassing effort in terms of the first half not really executing well, not having a purpose about what we were doing. We obviously fought our way back in the third quarter, but just (too many) breakdowns. Obviously they shot the ball well, but a lot of breakdowns that gave them so much momentum in those deciding moments. I didn’t do anything to help tonight either.”

Asked about losing games in such a fashion at home, he added ““In the moment it’s just a tough feeling. We haven’t had that in a while, over the last four or five years. The three games we lost at home to Toronto, Milwaukee and tonight where we get blown out it’s just a tough pill to swallow. Just getting outplayed. If we can just develop some consistency knowing teams are coming after us and playing us a certain way that’s different than it’s been the last four years, we got to make adjustments and it starts with us as players playing better. I think we understand that and we aren’t going to get down on ourselves at all understanding what we are capable of and what we are trying to accomplish the rest of the season.”

Questioned about whether there is a problem with motivation following long championship seasons, Coach Steve Kerr stated ““It’s a tough question. We got off to a great start, but it’s a long year and a long haul. There are going to be a lot of ups and downs. What we did a few years ago was the exception – this is the rule. This is how most NBA seasons go when you look at the history of the league. We’re in second place in the Western Conference. This is kind of how seasons go. You lose some games, you lose some home games and you try and get on some streaks. You don’t win 73 games. That just doesn’t happen. I think the bar has been set exceptionally high here by our players, so people are expecting that same thing to go on, but the reality is we are in a different point as an origination and as a team and we have to fight through the adversity that hits, like a game like tonight, and keep moving forward.”

GAME NOTES:This was the first time that the Warriors and Lakers have faced each other on Christmas Day since 1954, prior to either team moving to California.

After only losing by 20 or more points at Oracle twice in Steve Kerr’s first four seasons, the Warriors have now lost by at least that margin four times in the 2018-19 season.

In 2017, Draymond Green became just the sixth player in NBA history to record a triple-double on Christmas Day, joining LeBron James, Russell Westbrook,Oscar Robertson, Billy Cunningham and John Havlicek.

Kevin Durant’s 44 points against the Nuggets in 2010 is the highest single-game scoring total on Christmas Day by any active player.

Former Warriors center JaVale McGee, a member of the Warriors last two championship teams, was scheduled to receive his 2018 championship ring,but was unable to attend due to a respiratory infection.

]]>Warriors survive Lakers comeback for 11th straight winhttps://martineztribune.com/2017/12/23/warriors-survive-lakers-comeback-for-11th-straight-win/
Sat, 23 Dec 2017 09:55:50 +0000https://martineztribune.com/?p=7856BY DANIEL GLUSKOTER Anybody worried about the Warriors having a letdown prior to their marquee Christmas Day matchup against Cleveland was rather quickly put at ease during the Dubs 113-106 win over Los Angeles Friday night at Oracle. The up-and-coming young Lakers (11-19) have played the Warriors tough this season, pushing them in both early-season …

Anybody worried about the Warriors having a letdown prior to their marquee Christmas Day matchup against Cleveland was rather quickly put at ease during the Dubs 113-106 win over Los Angeles Friday night at Oracle.

The up-and-coming young Lakers (11-19) have played the Warriors tough this season, pushing them in both early-season games in LA, including forcing overtime in this past Monday’s match up. But on Friday night they came out flat against the defending champions before stunning the crowd with a huge comeback from a 23 point deficit to take the lead midway through the fourth quarter.

Steph Curry, Shaun Livingston and Zaza Pachulia were still sidelined, but Golden State, bolstered by the return of Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala, jumped out to a 61-44 halftime lead.

Seemingly cruising midway through the third quarter with a 71-48 lead, the Lakers ripped off a 41-17 run to take the lead with just under eight minutes go in the game following a three pointer by Julius Randle, who provided LA with a significant spark off the bench with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

L.A.’s lead lasted all of 17 seconds before former Laker Nick Young put the Warriors back on top to stay by converting a field goal and free throw. The outcome remained in doubt until the final minute of the unexpectedly exciting game, but Golden State’s depth and experience proved too much for their neighbors from the south.

The win, their 11th straight, improved the Warriors record to 26-6 and pushed them past Houston for the best record in the league for the first time this season.

Kevin Durant led the way with 33 points, five rebounds and five assists while rookie Jordan Bell had another solid start with 20 points and 10 boards, both career highs. Klay Thompson chipped in 16 while Draymond Green, in his first game back since being sidelined by a sore shoulder added 13 points to go along with 11 rebounds.

After the game, Warriors coach Steve Kerr couldn’t hide his enthusiasm for Bell’s continued rapid maturity to playing at the NBA level. “It didn’t shock me. I was waiting to play him with KD and Draymond. They were really good. Jordan had a huge game. He was really impressive and did a great job.”

Super rookie Kyle Kuzma led Los Angeles with 27 points and 14 rebounds, becoming the first Lakers rookie to score 25 or more points three games in a row since some guy named Jerry West in 1961. Lonzo Ball, who’s had a rough start to his young NBA career against most of the league, continued to impress against the Warriors with 24 points on 9-16 shooting to go along with five rebounds and five rebounds.

The Warriors return to action Saturday night with a 5:30 pm game against the Denver Nuggets before Monday’s battle with the Cavaliers.